Rather than reform the temporary foreign workers program, Ottawa should axe it. Or at least suspend it until we get a proper inventory of where skills shortages lie.

Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has managed to rush in hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers in record time. When the Conservatives took office in 2006, there were 140,000 temporary foreign workers. That number has since jumped to 338,000.

Terrorism was one reason for the inordinate delays in the processing of immigration papers to Canada — each applicant had to have a thorough security check, which took time. How is it, then, that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has managed to rush in hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers in record time? Have they been given only a cursory security check — and the briefest of medicals?

When the Conservatives took office in 2006, there were 140,000 temporary foreign workers (farm labourers, nannies, professionals, etc.). That number has since jumped to 338,000.

In fact, this understates that population. Ottawa does not know how many did not leave at the end of their visas and went underground. Plus there are 72,000 refugee claimants and 60,000 international students who have work permits.

So the total may be about 500,000, reckons Karl Flecker of the Canadian Labour Congress.

By comparison, the U.S., with 10 times our population, brought in 330,000 temporary workers last year.

Kenney attributed the dramatic rise to shortages of highly skilled labour. But the biggest category of imported workers has been the low-skilled — flipping burgers and pizzas, pouring coffee, making beds, washing cars, etc.

Meanwhile, 1.3 million Canadians are unemployed — nearly six workers available for every job vacancy.

The 250,000 still being brought in every year under the regular immigrant stream cannot find jobs either. Or they cannot get work commensurate with the education and skills for which they were chosen. Doctors are driving cabs, PhDs working as security guards, graduates cooking in kitchens, etc.

Whereas new immigrants have historically had to make adjustments, the abuse of the highly qualified current crop is a tragedy, for them and us. The under-utilization of their talents costs the economy an estimated $5 billion a year.

Ottawa ignored their pleas as well as those of unemployed Canadians. But it genuflected to the business lobby, especially in Alberta, looking for a quick fix for labour shortages at the lower end.

“The temporary worker pipeline is clearly one of the cornerstones of a policy to drive down wages and working conditions and make the country an even ‘friendlier’ place for business,” says Flecker.

Canadian-educated youngsters are competing with new immigrants for first jobs. Both are being exploited.

Too many businesses are taking the easy route of hiring cheaper pliant foreign workers, who may be paid between 15 and 5 per cent less than the going wage.

Temporary workers who have gone underground may be driving down wages even lower.

Meanwhile, corporate profits and executive compensations are ballooning, while jobs and benefits in the middle and lower ranks are evaporating. And the gap between the rich and poor keeps widening. Not all of that is attributable to Conservative immigration policies but the two trends are mutually reinforcing.

Stephen Harper is trying to deflect blame on to businesses. But they did what they were allowed to — Ottawa approved 80 per cent of the visa applications submitted by 33,000 employers.

Rather than “reform” the temporary foreign workers program, Ottawa should axe it. Or at least suspend it until we get a proper inventory of where exactly skills shortages lie. Ottawa should also forbid employers from paying between 15 and 5 per cent less than the going rate to the workers already here.

“We’ve been relying more and more on temporary foreign workers without even a cursory review of their impact” on Canada, says immigration expert Naomi Alboim, adjunct professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University.

She suggests that employers should review their wages and working conditions to entice Canadians. Work with community colleges to train staff for foreseeable vacancies in skilled jobs. Pay people to move from another province. Train new immigrants. Check out the foreign students studying here who may be eligible for immigration. Dip into the skills pool among those already selected for migrating to Canada but are waiting around the world for security and medical clearance.

Only if that fails, turn to foreign workers as a last resort.

Not all employers are out to depress wages, she says. Many turn to foreigners because of the delays in the regular immigration system. Or because the trades people they want don’t qualify under our “ill-designed” immigration selection, which has produced a clear mismatch between immigrant skills and the skills required for available jobs.

Rather than addressing all that, Kenney floods Canada with temporary foreign workers, who, besides being exploited, depress general wages and make it more difficult for both Canadians and landed immigrants to land jobs.

Most foreign workers cannot apply for landed immigrant status. They are expected to go back, which they may or may not do.

Most are also not allowed to bring families, either. That raises the spectre of bachelor societies that Chinese immigrants were forced into more than 100 years ago in British Columbia.

The latter is at least well-endowed with oil wealth to look after its citizens from cradle to grave and discriminates mostly against its guest workers. In Canada, both the guest workers and the citizens suffer.

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